SIR

I was chatting with him few days back & he asked, “What’s the topic of next blog?” I said, “May be, you.” Shockingly he asked, “Me? Why me?” And I said, “Why not you?”

He is my professor from engineering college, Prof. Tanavade. This is his formal introduction. But for me, he is a teacher, mentor, Godfather, guide, best friend….. the list of roles he has been playing in my life is endless.

I don’t know when I first met him, but I think we both noticed each other when I drew a neat diagram in one exam, and although wrongly drawn, he showed it to the class for its neatness. My association with him started that day, and the bond between us continues to grow strong even after 15 years of completion of my college.

Unlike most of the teachers, he has very friendly nature, and at the same time he manages to maintain respect in the minds of his students. We used to share almost anything & everything in our lives with him & he used to listen to all our senseless talks with enthusiasm & curiosity. He is an excellent teacher and he is equally interested in music, poetry, books, drama, sports. I still remember one evening we students spent at his house listening to him sing beautiful songs.

Recently, when I was collecting material on ‘teacher’s qualities’ for one of my program for school teachers, almost all qualities mentioned reminded me of him & came to know why he is a great teacher.

I still ask for his advice whenever confused or not sure of my decisions. All my blog posts including this one have gone to him for reading & approval & are then posted here.

He has taught me to read, write, listen, sing, speak, love, live life. Major part of my personality & my life is how it is because of him.

Saying ‘thank you’ to him will not be enough, but still, Thank you, Sir.